Recipe | Winston's Chef John Castro's the "Not" Brown

Nancy Miller, Special to The Courier-Journal
10:28 a.m. EDT July 29, 2014

Not Brown as prepared by Chef John Castro. July 11, 2014.(Photo: Jessica Ebelhar/The Courier-Journal)

2 ounces plus 2 ounces butter

2 ounces plus 2 cups flour

3 cups milk

2 cups plus ½ cup Gruyere or Swiss cheese, shredded

2 cups cream

2 whole green tomatoes

4 eggs

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

4 cups vegetable oil

1 pound (35-40) rock shrimp

¾ pound Dungeness crabmeat

4 cups baby spinach

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

8 slices bacon, fried and cut into small pieces

8 large shrimp, cooked (optional for garnish)

In a pan, melt two ounces of butter. Add two ounces of flour. Stir constantly until mixture begins to take some color, smells slightly nutty and forms a blond roux. Incorporate three cups of milk into roux and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add two cups of cheese and two cups of cream. Continue to whisk until all cheese has melted. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Store in refrigerator until needed. Can be made several days in advance.

Slice green tomatoes to ¼ inch thickness, making at least eight slices. Season two cups of flour with salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with a touch of water. Put the panko bread crumbs in a third bowl. Coat each tomato slice in seasoned flour, egg wash and breadcrumbs until coated. Store in refrigerator until needed. Can be made up to one day ahead.

Pour vegetable oil into a pot and heat to 350˚ (use a thermometer to measure temperature). Be very careful, as oil is both very hot and flammable. Deep fry coated tomatoes in oil until crispy on all sides. Remove, season with salt and pepper and drain on paper towel. Add two ounces of butter to large sauté pan, and heat. Add rock shrimp to pan and sauté until almost done. Add 12 ounces of crab to pan, and sauté until both crab and shrimp are thoroughly cooked. Add one quart of cheese sauce and spinach. Season with salt and pepper, and stir. Continue cooking until spinach has begun to wilt.

In four separate oven-proof bowls, place approximately 1/8 of liquid from seafood into the bottom of each bowl. Place one green tomato slice in the center. Top tomato with a mound of cooked shrimp/crab/spinach. Place second green tomato slice directly on top of seafood, forming a tower. Divide remaining sauce among the four bowls, pouring over and around the green tomatoes. Top with cherry tomato halves, bacon and large shrimp (optional), and sprinkle with ½ cup Gruyere cheese. Broil approximately three minutes, until cheese begins to bubble and brown. Serves 4.